3 arrested in Visakhapatnam District for smuggling 450 kg ganja

Three persons, including a police constable, were arrested by the Nakkapalli Police on Monday for smuggling ganja in the Visakhapatnam District. While the police were able to catch the constable and two other suspects, there are two more suspects, involved in the smuggling case, who have absconded. 

According to sources, the police caught three persons smuggling 450kg dry ganja which is worth Rs 50 lakh. The police caught the trio while they were transporting the ganja in an SUV from the Annavaram area in Visakhapatnam Agency on Monday. The police caught them while the ganja was being shifted into another vehicle at Nakkapalli. According to Nakkapalli-l police, the gang had made a deal worth Rs 3 lakh with the police constable in order to be able to avoid police checks and transport the ganja.

The three suspects nabbed by the police have been identified as Police Constable GA Naidu, of Koyyuru Police, Vasupalli Ramu and K Jogi Naidu. The other two suspects, involved in this smuggling, who escaped the police are D Arun Prasad and P Naresh. 

Nakkapalli-I Police have seized 450 kg ganja, a van, three two-wheeler vehicles and four cell phones from the three suspects. A smuggling case has been registered. Police are in search of the remaining two suspects who had absconded.

Recently, customs officials in Vizag had destroyed close to 4,100kg of ganja, valued at Rs. 6.27 crores, by incineration. The incineration was performed on 14 July 2021, becoming the fifth instance in 5 years of customs officials destroying seized ganja.

Ganja smuggling has been one of the major issues plaguing the Visakhapatnam District and the city police have striven to put a curb on it by conducting anti-drug drives in the city regularly.